U. of C. faculty members gather to support pro-Palestinian student protesters

Students have occupied the quad since last Monday, chanting, waving flags and hosting religious events in solidarity with Palestine. Organizers have expressed they will not leave the quad until the university agrees to a list of demands, including divestment from all Israeli-affiliated companies.

The encampments are among dozens across Chicago and the country that have roiled college campuses and led to police clashes and arrests. On Monday, Columbia University announced it had canceled its large university-wide commencement ceremony amid the ongoing pro-Palestinian protests but would hold smaller school-based ceremonies this week and next.

Over the weekend, tensions erupted at other encampment protests in Chicago: Police arrested dozens who were occupying a garden at the Art Institute of Chicago Saturday. On Sunday, pro-Palestinian agitators and pro-Israeli counterprotesters clashed at DePaul University's Lincoln Park campus.

A spokesperson for the Civilian Office of Police Accountability said the agency on Monday received a complaint of excessive force by at least one CPD officer who responded to the SAIC encampment. The agency is now working to determine if it will investigate the complaint or if it will be handled by CPD's bureau of internal affairs.

The protests are particularly on the radar of the city's political leaders ahead of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in August.

Mayor Brandon Johnson would not say whether he supported the arrests but said it was SAIC that made the request to begin detaining protesters because they were on private property.

"Obviously, the Police Department reacted, and look, my ultimate desire and goal is to ensure that fundamental rights are protected and that we're working to keep people safe, and that was accomplished," the mayor said at an unrelated news conference at the Thompson Center Monday.

The mayor's deputy mayor of safety, Garien Gatewood, was on the scene for several hours Saturday attempting to broker an agreement with the students and school to move to a different location. The unsuccessful attempt at deescalation, however, drew condemnation from some of Johnson's allies; seven progressive aldermen signed a letter Sunday warning that the scene at SAIC cannot repeat itself.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who was at the same event, indicated that the arrests were justified.

"People were protesting on private property, and a request was made, first for discussion as I understand it, and then removal," he said. "It seems not inappropriate that if people who are not willing to abide by the rules, if they are trespassing, then they need to leave."

As college campuses across the country have grappled with balancing First Amendment rights and student safety, Northwestern President Michael Schill reached an agreement with protesters last month outlining a plan intended to allow demonstrations to continue while preventing the chaos and occasional violence that has engulfed other campuses.

But while some praised the agreement, others — particularly members of the Jewish community — criticized the school for allowing protests there to become "increasingly hostile to Jews," with one group of students filing suit against the university.

On Monday, the House Committee on Education & the Workforce called on Schill — and the presidents of UCLA and Rutgers — to testify in a May 23 hearing titled "Calling for Accountability: Stopping Antisemitic College Chaos."

Meanwhile, University of Chicago administrators announced Sunday they had "suspended" negotiations with student protesters and cited "material inaccuracies and mischaracterizations" in social media.

"University leadership including academic deans worked with student designees of the protesters and faculty to explore possible paths to an agreement within the University's principles," the statement said. "Unfortunately, the requests of the protesters were inconsistent with the University's principles and discussions were suspended."

On Friday night, the university announced it was prepared to "intervene" to remove the pro-Palestine encampment with President Paul Alivisatos claiming student protesters have created a "systemic disruption" on campus.

The announcement led to tension on campus over the weekend with protesters expecting to be arrested. But as of Monday, the campus remained calm.

Elham Mireshghi, an assistant professor in the university's divinity school, said faculty members wanted to reaffirm their support for students protesting the war in Gaza after negotiations paused.

She said the encampment aligns with educators' academic priorities at the school. The university is famous for its "Chicago Principles," a set of guidelines intended to ensure "free, robust and uninhibited debate."

"This was and is an educational and political endeavor, protected by the First Amendment," Mireshghi said. "It should be especially safeguarded at UChicago, an institution dedicated to the free and open exchange of ideas. As faculty members, we will protect the safety of our students if the administration attempts to violently remove them, even if that means arrest and detention."

Eman Abdelhadi, an assistant professor, said she is the only Palestinian faculty member at the University of Chicago. She said she has been involved with negotiations between student protesters and the administration and called upon administrators to allow protests to continue.

Abdelhadi emphasized that it is her responsibility to emphasize free speech as an educator. She also said faculty are prepared to face legal action alongside students.

"We are no more in fear for our jobs than people are of losing their tents in Gaza. Tents that replaced their homes that replaced their other homes," Abdelhadi said. "Our fear pales in comparison."

Anton Ford, an associate professor in the philosophy department, said the group of faculty members supports organizers' calls for the university to disclose its investments and divest from Israeli-affiliated companies.

"We reject as untrue the university's claim that a peaceful encampment of students is an intolerable disruption of campus life," Ford said. "What little disruption there has been is a trivial inconvenience, which is insignificant by comparison to the good of permitting our students to peacefully express their sincere political commitment."

The encampments started in the past few weeks amid the mounting death toll in Gaza. More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.

Israel launched its war in Gaza after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, in which the group killed some 1,200 people and took 250 hostages. President Joe Biden on Thursday defended the right to protest but insisted that "order must prevail" at college campuses.

Chicago Tribune's Caroline Kubzansky, Sam Charles, Alice Yin, Nell Salzman and Jake Sheridan contributed.